Tyler Corcoran (Troop Historian) and Gordon Corcoran (Committee Chairman) provided the following narrative:
On April 1-2-3, 1999, Troop 846 participated in a George Washington Commemorative Camporee. This was to honor George Washington and commemorate the 200th anniversary of his death.
Upon arriving at Monkey Mountain we quickly set up camp, ate dinner and had a short campfire where Bro. Hupp shared some scriptures from the Book of Mormon about the founding of our nation and the great men who would be raised up to do it. We also talked and dispelled some myths about George Washington, like the fact that he did not chop down a cherry tree or have wooden teeth. Then the scouts had a rousing game of capture the flag before going to bed.
Friday morning for breakfast we ate George Washington’s favorite--Hoe Cakes with honey. After cleanup, we learned about and hoisted several replica flags from the Revolutionary War. Then we wrote "Ten Rules for Modern Civility" for our troop. These rules will be sent to Mount Vernon.
After lunch we had some free time before Steve and T.J. from Shaffer, Kline & Warren arrived to give us a surveying demonstration. T.J. demonstrated all that Scouts need to know to pass off the Surveying merit badge.
For dinner we ate a reasonable facsimile of the interpretation of Martha Washington’s Chicken Fricassee. This dish was met with mixed reviews, but was nonetheless a unique experience..
At campfire that night we were joined by Bishop Whipple who talked about the start of our government and the role George Washington played. Also Bro. Peter Freeman came in his original 1946 scout uniform and talked about Easter. Also, Bro. Corcoran shared a story about why George Washington was never wounded in battle and why the Indians stopped trying to shoot him. Afterward, we enjoyed Bro. Davis’ cherry cobbler.
Those in attendance were. Scouts Adam Amato, Tyler Corcoran, David and Stephen Davis, Chris Hupp, Jack Key, Amelika Mobley, Abija and Jacob Sanders, Dan and Tim Whipple, and Brothers Davis, Corcoran, Hupp, Whipple and Amato
Troop 846 Ten Rules of Civility
Jordan Stivers, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, provided the following:.
On May 22, 1999 the following Scouts and leaders went to Mud Cave at Talking Rock Caverns in Reed Springs, Missouri: Jordan Stivers, David Davis, Eric Davis, Daniel Whipple, Nelson Atagi, Ronnie Bailey, Chris Hupp, Abijah Sanders, Charlie Davis and Ron Hupp. Upon arriving we got into our caving gear which included helmet with attached flashlight, kneepads, gloves, and boots. We had to dress in layers because we were not sure about the temperatures in the cave. There was standing water throughout the cave. Our guide told about a legend of four boys who went into the cave exploring, but they never came out. We were told that there were endangered bats, salamanders and "blind" fish. There is a big fine if you bothered any of these animals. We reached a small room, with only enough room to sit where we ate lunch. In this room were mud sculptures from previous explorers of the cave. There wasn’t enough mud left in the room to build our own sculptures, so we just threw mud on the ceiling and wall. When we got to another place in the caves, our guides let us split up with our buddies and explore on our own. We all went to where the lower water levels were. We stood and crawled through muddy water. We got lost. We looked for holes in the walls to crawl through and we eventually found one that led us back to the right place. There were a couple of places that we could have fallen in and been stranded. We avoided those places. When we left the cave, we had to be hosed down with water to get most of the mud off of us. Daniel and I were the muddiest. Our faces, hair and hands were completely covered with mud. We went back to the campground, showered and broke camp. On the way back we stopped at a Chinese buffet in Branson. I got sick and we had to stop several times on the way home for me to use the bathroom. It was a wonderful experience.
